At a Glance - National Research Centre on Litchi

NRCL
- at a glance
ICAR
Mushahari, Muzaffarpur & 842 002, Bihar
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(Indian Council of Agricultural Research)
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National Research Centre on Litchi
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The Institute
N
ational Research Centre on Litchi (NRCL) was
established at Muzaffarpur, Bihar on 6th June
2001 to carry out research on all aspects of litchi in
a mission mode approach. NRCL acts as a nodal
institution for research and development of litchi
and provide leadership at national level. It also
acts as a national repository of information on
litchi production, processing, value addition, and provides consultancy services to end users. The Centre is located at
Mushahari, on Muzaffarpur-Pusa Road at 2605'87'' N latitude, 85026'64'' E longitude at an elevation of 210 m. It is about
eight km from Muzaffarpur railway station. The area has typically subtropical climate with an average annual rainfall of
1100-1300 mm. The soil conditions of the area are alluvial with sandy loam texture and are calcareous having pH 7.5 - 8.0.
The research farm of the centre is spread over an area of 40 ha.
Mission
Mandate
Harnessing science and technology by
interfacing research and extension activities
for enhanced quality production, productivity,
processing and use diversification for
sustained litchi production, industry and trade.
The centre has mandate to provide single
window solution for litchi plant genetic
resource management, crop production and
post harvest management to the growers,
industries and exporters in mission mode.
Functions
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To undertake basic, strategic and applied research for enhancing productivity, quality
and utility of litchi.
To act as repository of genetic resources and scientific information on all aspects of litchi.
To undertake frontline demonstration in newer technologies and to impart training for
upgrading scientific knowledge.
The Litchi Scenario
Litchi is an evergreen subtropical fruit known for its delicious, flavoured and juicy aril,
highly nutritive and refreshing taste. It contributes significantly to the growers' economy
in Bihar, Uttarakhand and West Bengal states of India. Currently, Bihar contributes
45% of total litchi production and occupies nearly 40% of the area under litchi plantation
in the country. India is the second largest producer of litchi after China but have the
highest productivity. The state-wise area, production, productivity and leading
states in production of litchi in India during 2010-11 has been depicted with following
diagram:
The trends of area and production of litchi in India during last ten years has been shown in the following figure:
Source: NHB, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India (www.nhb.gov.in)
The major litchi producing states and districts in India are :
Ø Bihar (Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Samastipur, East Champaran, West Champaran, Sitamarhi, Bhagalpur)
Ø West Bengal (Murshidabad, 24-Paraganas)
Ø Assam (Kamrup, Sonitpur, Bongaigaon)
Ø Uttarakhand (Dehradun, Udham Singh Nagar, Pithauragarh, Nainital, Haridwar)
Ø Punjab (Gurdaspur, Ropar, Pathankot, Hoshiarpur)
Ø Uttar Pradesh (Saharanpur, Kushinagar, Meerut)
Ø Jharkhand (Hazaribagh, Ranchi, Lohadaya)
Ø Tripura (South and East Tripura)
Thrust Areas of Research
1. Plant genetic resources management and crop improvement
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Collection of indigenous and exotic germplasm, their characterization, evaluation, documentation and utilization.
Development of improved cultivars through clonal and seedling selection and hybridization.
2. Development of sustainable production technology
High density planting in litchi for maximizing quality fruit production.
v Integrated nutrient and water management in litchi.
v Organic farming in litchi.
v Studies on propagation techniques in litchi and their standardization.
v Development of litchi based cropping system for recycling residues and high income.
v Investigation and establishing the physiological and biochemical relations for improved litchi production.
v Studies on mycorrhizal association and role of biofertilizers in litchi production.
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3. Development of plant protection technology
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Studies on the insect-pest complex of litchi and their management.
Investigation and management of pre-and post-harvest diseases of litchi .
4. Post harvest management and value addition
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Standardization of maturity standards, harvesting and post-harvest handling techniques for litchi fruits.
Investigation and management of post-harvest losses in litchi.
Standardization of processing and value addition techniques in litchi.
Achievements So Far...
Genetic Resource Management and Crop Improvement
Fifty two accessions of litchi and related species have been collected from
indigenous sources and planted in the Field Gene Bank.
v Eight cultivars of litchi have also been collected from overseas.
v Molecular characterization of 20 litchi cultivars is in progress in
collaboration with CISH, Lucknow using RAPD and ISSR markers.
v Fifty six superior clones of litchi have been identified and propagated for
their detailed evaluation.
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The hybrid progeny involving litchi cvs. Shahi, China, Bedana and Kasba have been developed and are under evaluation.
About 400 seedlings of cv. Shahi and China are under evaluation. Further, seedlings are also being raised from the
selected clones for precaucious gene harvesting.
Crop Production
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Plantation of various experimental blocks with most common cvs. Shahi and China has
been completed in 15 ha area to conduct different trials. A mother block of 1.5 ha,
germplasm block of 3 ha, seedling block of 2 ha has also been planted for conducting
different studies.
Rejuvenation technique for old senile orchard has been standardized.
Application of 75:50:100 g NPK/plant/year in cv. Shahi and 100:50:100 g NPK/plant/year in
cv. China has been found most effective for vegetative growth of plants.
Inter-space utilization protocol for young non-bearing litchi orchards has been developed
in which (1) Litchi-Banana (2) Litchi–Cowpea-Potato-Onion (3) Litchi-Okra-Gladiolus
models have demonstrated high B:C ratio of 2.38, 1.53 and 1.37, respectively.
Foliar application of planofix @ 2.5 ml/10 L or NAA 20 mg/ L of water one week after fruit set, significantly checked
the fruit drop.
Two spray of KNO3 (4% and 2%) after 20 and 30 days of fruit set delayed colour-break by 5 days in litchi cv. Shahi.
Bagging of individual litchi bunches in cv. Shahi with perforated butter paper has been
found the best for production of more class-I category fruits with reduced sun-burn and
cracked fruits.
Covering plants with 30% green and 50% white shade net extended the harvesting period
up to 16 days with slight decrease in TSS and acidity.
Biodiversity of arbuscular mycorrhiza in litchi rhizosphere have been studied where three
species of Glomus was predominantly associated.
Crop Protection
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Major pests of litchi prevalent in the area have been identified. Borer complex of litchi are most important as they
extensively damage the developing and matured fruits reducing the yields and marketability.
Trichogramma @50,000 eggs/ha at flower initiation and Nimbicidine @0.5% at fruiting followed by Cypermethrin
@0.005% and Nimbicidine @0.5% after
1 week were effective in minimizing the
damage caused by fruit borer.
Three new threats of pests in litchi were
identified viz., red weevil (Apoderus
blandus), semilooper (Anisodes
illepidaria) and bagworm (Eumeta
crameri).
'Twig blight' disease in litchi has been observed. The symptoms appeared as death of
leaves on new shoots due to foliar blight and tip dieback. The leaf blight appeared as tan
spots on the leaves. The afflicted leaves look like they were scorched from the sun.
Post-harvest fruit rot caused by fungi viz., Colletotrichum gloeosporioidis, Aspergillus
flavus, Alternaria alternata has been established.
Post-harvest Management and Value Addition
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Physico-chemical studies of litchi fruits during fruit development revealed that 3rd week
onward of May is the best time for harvesting litchi cv. Shahi.
The combined spray of Boric acid (0.2 and 0.5%) + Carbendazim (0.1%) + GA3 (50 and 100 ppm) + KNO3 (2 and 4%) or
CaNO3 (1%) twice during fruit development stage produced higher yield and good quality with less sun-burn and
cracked fruits in the cv. Shahi.
Thermocol packaging had enhanced the shelf-life of litchi fruits by 6-8 days.
A wine from litchi fruits having high nutritional value has been produced by fermentation using wine yeast,
Saccharmoyces cerevisiae var. bayamus.
Protocol for production of good quality litchi nuts by treating the fruits with KMS (0.1%) followed by citric acid (2%)
and dried alternatively in sun/shade- oven-sun for specific periods has been developed.
Externally Funded Projects
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Ten genotypes of pummelo and 14 of mango have been identified from Pusa cluster under UNEP-GEF Project of
Biodiversity International.
Good agricultural practices for litchi have been demonstrated under IND/TCP project of FAO.
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Pollination behavior in litchi has been studied under NHB project.
Intercrops for grown up orchards has been standardized under ATMA project.
Biodiversity of arbuscular mycorrhiza in litchi has been studied under AMAAS project.
Under Mega Seed Project about 25000 quality litchi saplings is produced every year which has been supplied to
various stakeholders especially state governments of Manipur, Tripura, Sikkim, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Technologies developed by NRCL
1. Rejuvenation of unproductive senile litchi orchard
A technology to rejuvenate old, dense and unproductive orchards (> 40 yrs) of litchi for better productivity and
quality fruit production without disturbing the original plantation through heavy reiterative pruning and other cultural
practices has been developed. Rejuvenated trees produce quality fruit within a minimum period of three years. Suitable
intercrop for this gestation period has been identified that utilize the created open space and gives income to the farmers
in addition to the income from sale of pruned woods. The likely cost of adoption of technology is `25000/ ha.
2. Potting mixture for propagation of quality planting material of litchi
A potting mixture media for healthy and vigorous
growth of litchi air-layered saplings has been developed
which gives better establishments of air-layers due to
profuse root developments and leads to high survival in
nursery and field conditions. The additional cost of
production of such gooties comes to ` 1.65/ gootie.
3. Technique for off season-layering in litchi
A technique for raising air-layered litchi planting
material through temperature regulation and selection of
non-bearing twigs of desired thickness during spring (offseason) has been standardized. This gives good quality
planting materials with an advantage of quick
establishment and low gestation and maintenance period.
4. Litchi based cropping system models
Three intercrop models viz., litchi-banana, litchiokra-gladiolus and litchi-cowpea-potato-onion has been
identified for utilizing interspaces in pre-bearing orchard.
5. Bagging of litchi bunch for quality litchi fruits
A technique of bagging litchi bunches with
perforated butter paper or brown paper has been
developed which results in 34% less cracked and sun-burnt
fruits and about 30% higher Class-I fruits.
6. Bio-intensive management of fruit borer complex
of litchi
An ecofriendly technology for management of Fruit
and seed borer (Conopomorpha sp.) has been developed
which involve biocontrol agent viz., application of
Trichogramma and organic products viz., nimbicidine,
vermiwash, and kamdhenu keet niyantrak.
7. IPM of litchi mite
An integrated management package has been developed for litchi mite which is
one of the important pests of litchi. This involves mechanical and chemical control
measures and field sanitation.
8. Preparation of wine from litchi fruits
A protocol for production of litchi wine has been developed. The wine thus
produced has typical litchi aroma, 10-12% alcohol and is rich in natural anti-oxidants.
The raw material and production cost is about `120 per 750 ml wine.
9. Technique for preparation of litchi nut
A simple technology for dehydrated litchi nut from fresh fruit has been developed
which has a shelf life of 10-12 months. One kg of litchi nut can be obtained from 4 kg
fresh litchi fruits. The technology involves dehydrating the pre-treated fruits under
shade, sun and cabinet tray drier, alternatively.
Gaps Identified in Litchi Research
Ø Narrow genetic base with very short period of availability of fruits Ø Short shelf life and high post-harvest losses
Ø Lack of canopy architecture management and efficient planting system Ø Lack of proper water and nutrient
management Ø Poor post-harvest management and product diversification Ø Unavailability of quality planting material.
Infrastructure Facilities
A number of equipments were procured such as GCMS, AAS, UVVIS spectrophotometer, leaf area meter, portable photosynthesis meter,
horizontal electrophoresis unit, nitrogen analyzer, flame photometer,
trinocular phase-contrast upright microscope, trinocular compound
microscope, stereo binocular microscope, ultracentrifuge, modified
atmospheric packaging unit, hydro-cooling system, forced-air cooling
system, litchi grading machine, plastic strip sealing and packaging
machine, litchi peeling machine, cool storage chamber, bottle washing
machine, and a state-of-art glasshouse facility for different research and
supportive activities at the centre have been augmented crop
production, protection and post harvest management laboratories along
with central instrumentation facility has been established..
Library
The library has a good collection of literature in the field of litchi cultivation and other related fields including Hindi
literature in horticulture and allied fields. It has 1340 books including recent editions of 400 reference books, 16
encyclopedias and 30 vol. of Britannica. Currently, 11 Indian and 11 international journals are being subscribed. The centre
has published 7 technical bulletins and 9 extension bulletins that are available in the library for researchers, extension
workers and farmers.
AKMU
The centre has an Agricultural Knowledge Management Unit (AKMU) to manage the knowledge database with
software of international repute such as SAS, CAB abstracts, horticultural abstract and other computing softwares. The
facility of LAN and server is being installed. Currently, it has broadband facility from BSNL for internet connectivity. The
centre has its website with url http://nrclitchi.org.
Budget
The total approved plan outlay for NRC for Litchi during the XIth Plan was ` 16.76 crore out of which ` 13.42 crore has
been utilized. The proposed plan outlay for XIIth plan is ` 25.00 crore including NEH and TSP component.
Scientific Cadre Strength
The Centre has currently only 7 scientific, 3 technical, 8 administrative and 3 supporting staff against the sanctioned
strength of 15 scientific, 12 technical, 12 administrative and 10 supporting staff. The sanctioned scientific position represent
the various disciplines of Horticulture, Plant Breeding, Genetics, Soil Science, Biotechnology, Physiology Biochemistry,
Pathology, Entomology and social services.
Services Provided by NRCL
For further information please contact:
Director, NRC on Litchi
Mushahari Farm, Mushahari, Muzaffarpur, Bihar – 842 002
Phone:+91-621-2281161, 2289475, Fax: +91-621-2281162 Email: [email protected], [email protected]
Website: http:// www.nrclitchi.org
Compilation & Editing: Dr. Vinod Kumar (Scientist, SS) and Dr. Vishal Nath (Director)
www.armyprintingpress.com
Lucknow (0522) 2481164
Training to extension workers, nurserymen, litchi growers and entrepreneurs. l Need based consultancy services.
Demonstration/exhibition of technologies developed.
army printing press
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